Diaper garment



Jan. 24, 1961 2,969,065

D. A. FARNSWORTH DIAPER GARMENT Filed Sept. 21, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 II/III. 'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIA 8 IN V EN TOR. 0011/ A FAIQ/V-S W017 A I BY ' 5' jg, rrae/vzx Jan. 24, 1961 swo 2,969,065

DIAPER GARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 21, 1959 HWWWWWWWWWWw-WWW INVENTOR. 00/1/ ,4. Amen/Shae? United States. Patent DIAPER GARMENT Don AJFarnsworth, Los Angeles, Calif., assignorto Coed of California, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Sept. 21, 1959, Ser. No. 841,107

Claims. (Cl. 128-284) My invention relates to an article of infants wear and specificallyto an improved waterproof garment to cover infants diapers, now in general use, and prevent leakage, seepage or escape of.liquid therefrom, and consequent soiling of the infants outer clothing, or other articles of bedding and clothing in close proximity to the diaper when .worn by the infant. Such article of my invention will hereinafter be termed a diaper garment Various considerations enter into the provision of a comfortable and satisfactory diaper garment, some of which are that, in addition to .being moisture or liquid impervious, water repellant or waterproof, the garment should not be bulky, so as to avoid overheating the abdominal or crotch areas of the infant; care should be taken to givethe legs reasonable freedom of movement to be comfortablein wear, but the garment should nevertheless fit sufficiently closely or snugly around the thighs to prevent the seepage or escape of liquid from the margins of the garment.

.A further consideration is that the diaper garment should provide sufiicient fullness in the seat portion to fit snugly, yet comfortably, over the usual diaper positioned over the buttocks and crotch area of the infant.

I am aware that numerous diaper garments of an analogous nature have heretofore been made, but they have all been deficient, due to one drawback or another, such as high cost of manufacture, lack of simplicity, and, mainly, lack of effectiveness, and comfort to the infant.

It is an object of my invention to provide a novel diaper garment of simple and lightweight construction which, while afiording complete protection, is comfortable for the infant to wear.

vA further object of my invention is to provide a novel diaper garment, including novel means associated therewith, to fit around the thighs of an infant, whereby leakage, or seepage or escape of moisture or liquid along the of chafing of the skin of the infants thighs is reduced to a minimum.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention, may appear from the accompanying drawings, the subjoined detail description, and the appended claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention in some of the forms I, at present, deem preferable.

Figure l is a perspective view, on a small scale, of one .form of the diaper garment of my invention, in the position which it assumes when on the body of an infant.

Stitching at the thigh openings has been eliminated for purposes of clearness.

drawn on a larger scale.

tmargins thereof, is effectively prevented, and likelihood I Fig. Sis a fragmentary transverse sectional view drawn on a larger scale, and showing one mode of securing an elastic tape memberto the edge of the gusset member.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view, analogous to Fig. 5, and taken on line 6-6, Fig. 7, and showing another mode of securing the elastic .tape member to the edge of the gusset member; and

Fig. 7 isra view analogous to ,Fig. 2, but showing another embodiment of my invention.

Referringnow to Fig. l, the diapergarment, generally indicated by the numeral 10, comprisesv a single backing piece of light, but strong, moisture and liquid impervious, or waterproof or water repellant fabric 11, lined with a piece of softabsorbent material 12, such as lightweight flannel.

The leg openings shown at 13 are each provided with a waterproof flexible gusset or strip 14 that extends outwardly from the central edge of members 11 and 12. An elastic tape, member 15'is secured to the .outer or free edge of thegusset 14 along the central portion thereof (Fig. 2), as by over-edge stitching 15, thus gathering the mid-portion of the gusset 14 to contract the outer edge thereof and maintain such edge of the gusset 14 in close contact with the thighs of the infant. The tape member 15 secured to the gusset 14 throughout the central outer edge portion thereof, as shown in Fig. 2, is preferably stitched thereto as shown in Fig. 5, whereby the needle thread .of the stitching passes through the tape member 15 to secure the same to gusset member 14.

Press stud means 18 are provided to hold the garment around the bodyof the infant and, when secured, as shown in Fig. 1, draw the waterproof gusset 14 into firm contact with the thighs of the infant while leaving him considerablefreedom of leg movement permittedby the flexible material of which the gusset 14 is made, and without causing chafing of the skin. The back of the garmentis indicated at 11a and the front at 11b. The edges of the back and front of the garment are preferably parallel.

The garment 10, generally shown in Fig. l, is illustrated in detail inFigs. 2, 3 and v4. The water repellant backing piece 11 and a co-extensivelining 12., of material suchas light-weight flannel, are secured together around the periphery of the pieces by a tape binding 19 folded over the. edges of'the backing piece 11 and lining 12 and stitched together as indicated by the peripheral line of stitching 20.

Preferably, additional layers 12' of absorbent lightweight material of less extent than lining i2 are positioned, before completing the binding, between the backing 11 and the .lining 12, and are secured in place by additional lines of stitching 21.

It will be obvious that, if desired or preferred, the additional sheets or layers 12 of soft lining material may be. stitched to the layer 12 before the latter is secured to the backing member by the binding 19 and stitching 2t).

The described arrangement of the absorbent material keeps the weight and warmth of the garment at a minimum. The stitching 21 is preferably done with fine needles and thread to reduce the size of the holes extending through the body of the garment as much as possible to avoid leakage of liquid therethrough.

As shown in Fig. 4, the waterproof flexible gussets 14 are sewn along their inner edges (that are tucked under the binding 19 before it is stitched) to the garment members 11 and 12, along the central outer edges thereof.

It will be noted that the waterproof gussets 14 are formed from strips with inwardly curved or in-turned inner edges 14a, and the width of the strip 14 being in creased slightly from the end towardthe front end 11b of the garment toward the back end 11a of the garment.

The ends of gussets 14 are flared into the backing piece 11 along curved lines.

Along the central portions of the outer edges of the waterproof gussets 14, lengths of resilient edging material 15 are secured, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. The resilient edging material 15 may be a strip of rubber, but is preferably commercially available elastic tape, which is formed from parallel strands of rubber woven into a flat fabric covered tape, and the term elastic tape as used herein, shall include all such resilient material that may be extended and normally is urged to contracted posi tion. The resilient material 15, when contracted, is shorter in length than that portion of the edge of the gusset 14 to which it is secured, and, therefore, tends to bow or gather the outer edges of the gusset members 14 into a contracted arcuate shape, although the garment may be stretched lengthwise, which is permitted by the resiliency of the elastic tape 15, when putting the garment on an infant. It will be evident that although the waterproof material 14 will be puckered in minute folds in contact with the resilient members 15 to which it is attached, the outer edge of the resilient member will be substantially flat and will lie smoothly against the skin of the infants thigh, and almost completely around it, except adjacent the lower press stud fasteners 18 which are at the sides of the garment.

It will be noted from Fig. 2 that a plurality of vertical rows of the male members 18a of the press studs 18 are provided on the back edge 11a of the garment 10 with which a single pair of female members 18b may be selectively engaged.

Fig. illustrates the preferred type of stitching used when the elastic member 15 is secured directly to the waterproof flexible gussets 14, the needle stitches 22 being carried through both the edge of the gusset 14 and elastic edging 15.

The embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 7 is generally similar to the form described with reference to Fig. 2, and parts carrying the same reference numerals as in Fig. 2 with the addition of subscript a, are to be understood to be the same in both embodiments, and further description of such analogous parts is deemed unnecessary and will be omitted for the sake of brevity.

In Fig. 7 the elastic edging tape 23 in relaxed or contracted condition, is shorter in length than the length of the outer edge of the waterproof gusset 24 that is connected to the main portion of the garment as previously explained with reference to the form of the invention shown in Fig. 1. The ends of tape member 23 are secured to the main body of the garment by continuing the tape attaching or securing overlock stitching 27 onto the tape 19a, at each end of said stitching, and preferably, however, without stitching or sewing the clastic tape 23 to the gussets 24, as is shown in Fig. 6. The contractive force of elastic edging tape 23 tends to gather the mid-length portion of the gussets 24 in a manner analogous to that of the gusset 14 shown in Fig. 1.

It is to be understood that the side edges of the gar ments shown in both Figs. 2 and 7 are substantially straight if a longitudinal pull is given the garment, which pull is sufiiciently strong to straighten out the resilient edging members 15 or 23, but at other times the edging tape exerts a gathering eifect on the guessets 14 and 24, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to contract the outer edges of the said gussets, and thereby form a pocket to receive any moisture that may tend to escape from the side edges of the garment, and such elastic tape edging, when the garment is in use, will contact the skin of the wearer, around the thighs, and further tend to prevent escape of moisture beyond the outer perimeter of the tape 15 or 23.

It is to be noted that the press stud means 18 hold the edges of the leg openings together in close proximity to each other, so that the resilient members 15 or 23 press against almost the whole periphery of the thighs leaving,

however, a small opening at the top of the leg opening adequate for ventilation.

Any suitable material may be used for the outer water repellent backing sheet, such as closely woven Nylon or other suitable plastic material, thin oiled silk or the like, or rubberized fabrics, and many suitable waterproof and flexible materials are commercially available for use as the Waterproof gussets 14 and 24.

The garment is very simple to cut out and make up and aifords a light, comfortable, and waterproof article of infants wear, which is easy to launder.

If desired, the ends of the elastic tape 23 may be more firmly secured or attached to the edge of the garment 10, as by tack" stitching 35 passing through the tape 23 and the binding tape 19a- Preferred embodiments of my invention have been specifically described and shown by way of illustrative example but not as limitative of the scope of the invention, since various changes and modifications may be made in the described embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A diaper garment for infants, comprising: a length of water repellant and light but strong backing material and being wider at the horizontal edge thereof that is placed around the back of the waist of the infant, than the horizontal edge of the end thereof that is passed under the infants crotch and positioned upon the front of the infant, means for detachably connecting the horizontal edges together; soft light-weight absorbent sheet material, at least one sheet of which is co-extensive with and Se cured to the edges of the inner face of said backing material; an gusset of flexible waterproof material projecting laterally from and intermediate the ends of each side edge of the length of waterproof backing material; and a strip of resilient material secured along the central portion of the outer edge of each said laterally projecting gussets and effective to gather the midlength of the garment into pouch-like form and to form the edges of the leg openings of the garment to hold the edge of said openings in firm engagement with the skin of the infants thighs.

2. A diaper garment for infants as set forth in claim 1, and in which said strip of resilient material is mounted on the outer edge ofeach gusset and stitched thereto to a greater length of said gusset than the contracted length of said strip of resilient material.

3. A diaper garment for infants as set forth in claim 1, and in which said strip of resilient material is mounted on the outer edge of each gusset and is of less length when contracted than the outer edge of the gusset, the ends of said resilient means being secured to the backing material at each end of said gusset; and means securing the outer;-

edge of the gusset to said resilient strip while enabling the said outer edge to be straightened when said resilient means is extended by pulling longitudinally on said backing member.

4. A diaper garment for infants, comprising: a length of water repellant and light but strong backing material and being wider at the horizontal edge thereof that is placed around the back of the infant, than the horizontal edge of the end thereof that is passed under the infants crotch and positioned upon the front of the infant; means for detachably connecting the horizontal edges together; a lining of soft light-weight absorbent sheet material secured around its edges to the backing material; additional pieces of fiat absorbent material secured between said lining and the backing material to extend over selected areas of the garment; an insert of flexible waterproof material projecting laterally from and intermediate the ends of each side edge of the length of waterproof backing material; and a strip of resilient material secured along the central outer edge of each of said laterally projecting inserts and eifective to gather the mid-length of 5 the inserts into pouch-like form and to form the edges of the leg openings of the garment to hold the edge of said openings in firm engagement with the skin of the infants thighs.

5. A diaper garment as set forth in claim 4, and in which the outer edge of each of said gussets is secured to the associated resilient strip by stitching efiective to hold the edge of the resilient strip to said gusset by individual stitches closely spaced together when said resilient strip is contracted, and the individual stitches moving further apart when the resilient strip is stretched to flatten out the garment, to enable the outer edges of the gusset to be changed to a flattened condition while the outer edge of the gusset remains secured to the resilient member.

6. A diaper garment comprising: an elongated waterproof backing member with the edge at one end of the elongated member wider than the edge at the opposite end thereof; soft absorbent material placed upon and secured to the inner face of said backing member; lateral extensions of waterproof material of strip-like form projecting from said side edges intermediate the length thereof; resilient members secured to the central portions of the outer edges of said lateral extensions and when in retracted position being shorter in length than the length of said strip-like lateral extensions in direct contact with said resilient members; and adjustable fastening means for securing said garment in position over the buttocks and crotch areas of an infant, the resilient means being eifective to give a pouch-like configuration to the lateral extensions of the garment and to provide leg openings, the edges of which leg openings rest in firm engagement with the skin of the infants thighs when said fastening means are secured together.

7. A diaper garment for infants comprising, an outer sheet of water repellant material; an inner lining member consisting of at least one sheet of absorbent material; said water repellant and absorbent materials being of a configuration to provide a buttock receiving back member, and a member of narrower width than said back member adapted to be extended forwardly through an infants crotch and be secured to the upper corners of said back member; a gusset member of water repellant material secured at one side to, and extending outwardly from, each side of said back member at the central portions thereof; and an elastic tape member secured to the outer side of said gusset member and extending along the central portions of said gusset members.

8. A diaper garment as defined in claim 7, and in which said elastic tape member extends throughout the length of the outer side of said gusset members and has its ends securely attached to the side edges of said garment.

9. A diaper garment for infants comprising a backing member of water repellant material; a lining member of absorbent material superimposed on said backing member; gusset members of water repellant material extending outwardly from, and along the medial portions of, said backing and lining members; and means at the outer edge of said gusset members along the central portion thereof to normally contract the outer edge of said gusset members, and permit automatic expansion thereof when said diaper garment is placed upon an infant, and to normally urge said outer edge of said gusset members into snug contact with the thighs of the infant.

10. A diaper garment as defined in claim 9, and in which the means at the outer edge of said gusset members extend throughout the length of the outer edge of said gusset members and said means being securely attached at its ends to said garment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

